Travel Blog Will Focus on Destinations Near and Far

As an avid traveler and someone who made a career in the tour and travel industry, I invite Patch readers to follow me into a world of exploration, from destinations right here in our own backyard to exotic places around the world. But don’t just be a reader! Let us know if you’ve been there too and what you’d recommend. Together, we can help make our future discoveries even better.

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It’s the harvest season so let’s start things off by hooking up those overalls and bringing out the farmer in all of us.

Sure, there are “pick-your-own” orchards, but what about picking for the greater good? Winemakers are eager to let us help pick the ripened Minnesota grapes that go into tomorrow’s bottles of wine. And who would argue with free wine tasting as a reward?!

For example, I just registered to pick grapes in the Sohn Valley, south of Cannon Falls, for the Cannon River Winery. Just a 30-minute drive from the Twin Cities metro area, you can enjoy the fall colors along the way. Each four-hour shift begins with staff explaining the process and demonstrating the proper use of the picking forks. (Volunteers must register in advance.)

Then it's off to the rows of vines, where you'll clean them of the heavy-hanging
fruit, put them in baskets, which are then taken to a waiting truck for delivery
to the winery in town─all within minutes!

Volunteers are treated to a complimentary light meal, along with a choice of wine. You can also purchase table grapes to take home.

Drive 10 miles into town afterwards to visit the processing and retail facility. It was fun to see the grapes we had just picked being loaded into the de-stemming machine and the juice funneled directly into the fermenter.

The entire experience reminds me of the former television commercial: "It's shake and bake, and I helped!"

Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings plans on picking grapes each of the next three weekends, Sept. 3-18. They provide lunch and a bottle of wine to volunteers, who must register online if interested.

Last weekend I visited two wineries near Waconia. Parley Lake Winery features a vineyard and a fruit orchard, along with a gift shop. If you register online for the mailing list, they will let you know when the harvest is ripe for picking. If you’d rather browse the gift shop and stop in the tasting room, $5 will get you four tastings and you keep the wine glass as a souvenir.

Just up the road, on the shore of Lake Waconia, is Sovereign Estate Winery, one of the newer Minnesota wineries. Although they aren’t in need of “pickers” this year, they have joined with Parley Lake Winery to offer a progressive dinner Sept. 16 to both locations. Tickets can be purchased through either winery but you’d better hurry because there are only 40 spots available.

The Crofut Family Winery and Vineyard is looking for harvesters Sept. 17 and 18. Located in Jordan, the winery also is featuring a Grape Stomp Sept. 10 and 11. The list of stompers is already full but visitors are welcome to watch the foot-action get underway.

The first winery in Minnesota opened in 1978. As of 2010, there were 35 wineries in the state producing a total of 121,500 gallons of wine, according to the Minnesota Grape Growers Assocation. There are dozens of vineyards I haven’t mentioned, so if you’ve been to another Minnesota vineyard to pick grapes, let me know. I’d love to add it to the list. “Voluntouring” never tasted so good! Learn more about Minnesota grape growers here.